ROME, May 23 ― The reopening of Italy’s restaurants, cafes and stores earlier this week brought hopes of a return to normality for many Italians after a punishing two-month coronavirus lockdown. But the picture is not so bright. In a sign of further trouble ahead for Italy’s economy, many of these establishments remain shut as insufficient funds, new sanitary rules or a lack of clientele represent serious brakes to reopening. “Were I to open tomorrow, I wouldn’t have one client,” said Pietro Lepore, owner of Harry’s Bar on Rome’s tony Via Veneto. “There are 12 luxury hotels on the street. Sixty percent of my business comes from their clientele and they’re all closed,” Lepore, whose 24 employees are all furloughed, told AFP. It is the same from Rome to Florence and Venice, where the spokeswoman for the city’s shopkeepers’ association, Cristina Giussani, mused whether cafes and restaurants should open “for seagulls and pigeons” given the utter lack of tourists. Italy’s econ …
